Sunday, July 26, 2026

Emmy Win Puts a Spotlight Back on Altadena’s Black Neighborhoods

A local NBC series on the community’s history and its fire losses took the News Series award

A local television station’s video report on Altadena’s historically Black neighborhoods — how they were built, who lives there and how much they lost in the Eaton Fire — was recognized this weekend with a Los Angeles Area Emmy.

NBC4 Los Angeles won the News Series Award for “Black Heritage: Altadena Roots and Resilience,” part of the station’s “Discover Black Heritage” reporting, at the 78th Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards.

The ceremony was held Saturday, July 25, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The honor recognizes the reporting a recovery that a year and a half after the fire, is far from finished.

The NBC4 series traces Altadena’s roots as one of the few areas in Los Angeles County where Black families could buy homes and build wealth through the mid-20th century, when discriminatory housing practices shut them out elsewhere.

Census figures and multiple news outlets have put the Black homeownership rate in Altadena at roughly 80 percent or higher before the fire — close to double the national rate, according to KNBC News reporting.

The Eaton Fire fell heavily on Altadena’s western, historically Black neighborhoods. A UCLA data brief found that 61 percent of Black households in Altadena sat inside the fire perimeter, compared with 50 percent of non-Black households.

Some of the station’s Altadena reporting reached back to that immediate aftermath. On January 31, 2025, NBC4 aired a segment titled “Altadena Roots & Resilience” that followed young athletes and their families reuniting after the fire. It was reported by veteran anchor Conan Nolan.

The award was one of four NBC4 won Saturday night. PBS SoCal led all outlets with eight, according to Deadline’s published winners list. The ceremony was hosted by ABC7 entertainment reporter George Pennacchio, and ABC7’s David Ono received the 2026 Governors Award.